Tagged: peanut butter

Being back to work has been an adjustment, of course, but I think we’re finally… sort of… almoooooost… in a groove! This groove does require being in bed by 9:30 (if I’m lucky) and waking up at 5:00 – but it’s totally a groove!! Hopefully this week I’m going to try and give you an updated “day in the life” kind of post. I always think those posts are super fun! But for now – here’s what’s been up with THIS buttercup!

I’m very lucky that the staff at KinderCare have been so accomodating and willing to send a fairly nervous Momma photos of her babe. Of all the one’s I’ve received, this is the one where Emma is the happiest lol.

Obviously, Emma hasn’t been thrilled at the prospect of being dropped off with strangers. But after three weeks – she’s downing at least two bottles and eating bits and pieces of solids, too, which makes me very happy! Dropping her off is kind of rough, but I’ve kept it together!! Once I’m at work, though, I hardly even have time to check my phone to see how she’s doing before it’s time to head out again! Time has seriously gone by so, so quickly! I can’t believe it’s been three weeks back to work already. I’m loving every second of my new job! (I’m a Project Manager for an Internet Marketer in Harrisburg). I kind of just got thrown right into the fire and am already working with clients – but I can’t imagine it any other way. I learn best by doing, so I think it’s working out pretty well.

I’ve resorted to some serious meal prepping since I’m so busy. I’m all about salads in a jar for lunch. I’ve done an Asian one, a Greek one, and a Southwest one. This week I’m thinking Strawberry Spinach. I plan to write a post on them soon – so we’ll see how that goes. 😉 Hardboiled eggs and string cheese are my snacks of choice – as are grapes, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, and the occasional rice cake with peanut butter and banana on top.

Breakfasts have been protein smoothies, overnight oats, and eggs and avocado toast.

On a good day – I’m up at 5:00am, I feed Emma who then goes back to sleep for a bit (on a good day), I shower, get ready and have time to eat some breakfast before I grab the babe head out the door. Having a flex start time is amazing because I don’t need to stress if I’m running a few minutes later than I’d prefer because I can show up anytime between 8:00am and 10:00am…it’s pretty glorious. Obviously as an early riser I do what I can to get there for 8:00am. So far so good!!

Emma bear is seriously on the move, lately!! And getting into everything! We’ve officially had to start baby proofing…but this drawer just has oven mitts in it…so it’s hers now lol.

And o0o0o0o0o!!!! I had a lovely first Mother’s Day, thanks for asking!!! The hubs and the babe took me to brunch at a place in the Burg I’ve been dying to try – Home 231. I got not 1…but 2 mimosas (I know, I’m wild) and huevos rancheros which were effing delightful. I struggled to pick something, but it’s pretty much a guarantee that if a menu has huevos rancherors Imma get it. Hubs got a burger and fries with some Troegs Perpetual IPA – of course. We brought Emma cheerios so she was a happy camper!

Being back to work really does make me appreciate the weekend again!! Last weekend, I made Em and I matching banana oat pancakes for breakfast. There is something about mini breakfasts that just make me happy inside. She at about half of one of these babies and thoroughly enjoyed the peanut butter on top. I ate all of mine…and one of hers. But I don’t feel bad about it lol. We still haven’t given Em chocolate, so I reserved the chocolate chips for me. Mu-hu-hahaha.

Gosh, don’t you just love breakfast food?! All I want to do now is eat these pancakes. Here is the foolproof recipe!!

Mommy & Baby Banana Oat Pancakes

1 ripe banana, smashed

1 egg (if you haven’t given your baby a whole egg yet, i suggest two yolks.)

1/4 cup rolled oats

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cook on a griddle over medium heat… like you would any other pancake… and serve!!

I know, that recipe isn’t the most specific. But if you don’t know how to make pancakes I’m sure there is a video on youtube that will show you how… in fact….here ya go! Have at it!! The internets is great, isn’t it?

Breakfast: Chocolate Shakeology with skim milk, spinach, 1/2 a banana, and peanut butter after my core workout. Harcore on the Floor is no effing joke. This was a prime reward. For serious.

Snack: Ezekiel toast with avocado, a hard boiled egg, and a sprinkle of Frank’s Red Hot. AKA the best combination of foods on toast ever of all time.

Lunch: Em and I had matching lunches – which is my favorite kind of lunch! I know I will still have the weekends for matching lunches with my little bug, but I’m really trying to make the most of this week with her!! She had chicken, sweet potato, and broccoli. I had the same – but my chicken had a wee bit of BBQ sauce, topped with cheddar and green onions. Today was a lunch bust, as I put her in her high chair and she lost her mind. She napped through lunch time. Sigh. Tomorrow is another day.

Snack: If you read my meal plan in my last post, you’ll notice this snack was not included. Em was having a pretty nurse-heavy day yesterday and on those days, if I’m hungry, I’m not going to starve myself. I get what I call “the hungry shakes” if I don’t eat enough. Ya know – where you’re so hungry that your hands start shaking and ya get all light headed. Es no bueno! That was about to happen…soooo…insert extra snack. Ezekiel toast with almond butter, 1/2 a banana, and honey AKA the other best combination of foods put on toast ever of all time. Plus decaf iced coffee with skim milk and a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. Not gonna lie – the cocoa powder wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made. I still drank it, obvi, buuuuut I don’t think I’ll be doing that combo again anytime soon.

Snack Again: It was my last night working in the Kid’s Club at my gym, and I brought a snack and a big ol’ bottle of water to get me by. Yesterday was a bag of snap peas and carrots. Snap peas are my jam lately. I snack on them like it’s my job!

Dinner: Since about January when I started working every Tuesday night our Tuesday’s officially became Taco Tuesday. It’s so quick to make when I get home after 7:00 PM and I’m starving and the hubs just plain loves tacos. I had pretty much always have a taco salad. This right here is a big bed of romaine, cherry tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, 3 ounces of turkey taco meat, 1 crumbled taco shell, and a tablespoon of cheddar cheese. Johnny left just a tiny little bit of meat left in the pan when he was done with his…so I may have eaten that too…in a taco shell…with some cheese…over the sink. #noshame

Snack: So after dinner I get Johnny’s food together for work for the following day – like the outstanding wife that I am – and I always make him two peanut butter sandwiches. On a good day, I can control myself and put the peanut butter away untouched. Yesterday was not a good day. I may have had a giant spoon full of peanut butter…sprinkled with chocolate chips. Okay I may have had FOUR giant spoons of peanut butter sprinkled with chocolate chips. Ugh! I can’t be perfect all the time…amiright? Peanut butter is my weakness. It’s a problem. And the first step to having a problem is admitting you have a problem, right? Or something like that.

Speaking of madness…I feel kind of like a cow. Not in an “Oh my gosh I’m huge” way…more like an “I am a milk machine” kind of way. Ha.

Emma is definitely going through another growth spurt over the last few days and she is a very hungry little lady. It feels like I am nursing her CONSTANTLY! But it’s okay…because she’s adorable…and she’s 1 month old today!!! Oh time. Part of me wants it to stop so she’ll be a little peanut forever…but part of me wants her to eat a little less too…so I suppose I’m okay with it progressing at the rate it is. 🙂

Anywho, I’m actually sharing a new, quick, easy recipe with ya’ll today!! Quick and easy recipes are the only way I can really function these days, so this smoothie is PERFECT!! And it’s peeeeerfect for a nursing momma!! Why? Because it’s got protein and a banana for staying power, flax seed for omega 3’s and to boost that milk supply, and coffee (decaf for me…but you do you) to give you that little boost you most certainly need if your baby is anything like mine and would rather eat all night than sleep! Bananas and coffee may sound a little weird together, but I promise, this smoothie is amazing!!

Banana Latte Smoothie

serves 1

1 frozen, peeled banana

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk

1/4 cup brewed coffee (mine was still warm when I made it and it came out just fine)

1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend. Serve sprinkled with cinnamon if you desire.

I have returned with my favorite post of the week… What I Ate Wednesday!!I figured this was my best bet for getting a post up these days, as I haven’t been cooking too much of anything new to share a recipe with you, nor have I been working out regularly yet, as I still have two more weeks until I see my doctor again (though, I won’t lie, I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few minutes of yoga every day and I’ve been taking the little miss for walks in her stroller around the neighborhood!)

As always, shout out to our lovely host, Jenn, at Peas and Crayons!! First, we shall discuss my eats from yesterday…then…motherhood!

Breakfast: Every morning is a little different lately, as Emma’s sleep schedule is still not exactly a schedule quite yet. Yesterday I was up from 4:30 to 6:30 nursing her and changing her and lulling her back to sleep but I went back to sleep and she woke me up at 9:00 with her “MOM I’M SO HUNGRY!” cry. So first thing as soon as I’m up I feed her for a half an hour while my belly rumbles. I’m starving by the time I get to make my own breakfast…which winds up being 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites with Frank’s Red Hot, a whole wheat English muffin with smart balance, a handful of sliced strawberries, a banana, and a giant mug of English Breakfast Tea. While I was making my eggs…which were meant to be over easy…I heard Emma poop from two rooms away (she is a powerful pooper) so I ran to change her and my yolks cooked all the way through. If that’s not unconditional love I don’t know what is. 😉

Snack: My first snack of the day was a Kashi Chocolate Almond and Sea Salt with Chia bar…which is mighty tasty and fairly healthy for a prepackaged granola bar…while nursing the little lady. My second snack of the day, also enjoyed during a mid day nursing sesh, was a perfect plum! It was less than two bucks for two pounds of these babies at Wegmans this weekend and I was all over it!

Lunch: Lunch was kind of an ordeal yesterday. Just in that, in a perfect world, both snack times would have been lunch were I not feeding a hungry, hungry baby. I finally got the munchkin to fall asleep so I made this delicious taco salad. My father in law walks into the kitchen and says “it’s quiet in here”…sigh…and right on cue she started screaming. I put my salad down, change her diaper to discover she had a huuuge blow out and I needed to change her onsie, too, and of course I actually put away the laundry so they were all upstairs. I finally had her dressed again and she starts sucking her hands like a maniac ( that’s baby talk for “feed me immediately, woman” for those who don’t know) so of course, I fed her…for forty minutes…while staring at my salad waiting to be eaten.

Snack: An oldie but a goodie…plain Greek yogurt with peanut butter, honey, and some chocolate chips. Although after 4-weeks it does feel like my appetite has finally evened out, I pretty much feel starving alllllllll the time. This snack helps. 🙂

Dinner: Sometimes I think everyone needs some cheese and bacon. Yesterday was one of those days for me. I had my cheese and bacon on top of some homemade potato wedges with some scallions, broccoli, and a quick chipotle dipping sauce (1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 of a minced chipotle in adobo, and a pinch of salt.) It was banginnnnn!

After dinner it was about 8:00pm and I made myself a glass of chocolate milk before I sat down to feed the baby again. By 10:00 she was satisfied, changed twice, and snoozing…so I hit the hay, too. We slept from about 10:30 to almost but not quite 1:00am before she woke me up for more noms.

Late Night Snack: These Luna Protein Bars have been a godsend during my late night feedings. They are pretty small but pack a whopping 12 grams of protein – which means I can eat them quickly and actually feel satisfied for a while! I enjoyed this bad boy in bed by the soft glow of a nightlight, while feeding my baby girl at 2:00am. Obviously I would choose the chocolate peanut butter flavor…but the cookie dough is quite delightful, too.

So there we have a full day of eats for nursing mom, me!!

NOW ONTO MOTHERHOOD!!
I’m not gonna lie to you…these last four weeks have been a whirlwind for sure! I am completely flabbergasted that my baby girl is four weeks old today and will be a full month old this weekend!! Even when my days have no real distinct beginning or end it’s astounding how quickly time is going by. I’m doing everything I can to soak up the moments I have with my daughter while she’s this teeny tiny person…but I notice changes in her every day and I can’t help but be excited by what the future will bring!!

ABOUT BREASTFEEDING
My decision to breastfeed is one thing I receive the most questions about and I can say without hesitation that I know it was the right choice. “Are you sure she’s eating enough?” is a common question. Here’s a fun fact: yesterday I fed Emma for a grand total of 6 hours and 24 minutes. I’ve been using a fancy app the last two weeks recommended to me by my dear friend and fellow new mommy, Desirae, called “Feed Baby” which helps me to time and keep track of feedings, diapers, sleep, and it has been SO helpful! Then we get to “Are you sure she’s not eating too much?” *sigh* Sometimes I think it’s a bigger pain in the fanny to EXPLAIN breastfeeding to people then breastfeeding is itself! Even when I’m running on two hour of sleep at a time I am very patient with my baby. I am much less patient with grown-ups. Lucky for me, I feel very blessed that the important people in my life support my decision to breastfeed! I really wish more people would educate themselves about breastfeeding…and in general…before making assumptions about the well-being of my child.

ON MY POSTPARTUM BODY
Something I find particularly fascinating about some other women, and society in general I suppose, is how often you hear that a body is “ruined” after having a baby. It’s so common to hear other women complain about how their body was never the same after giving birth. There was even a part of me that was concerned I may feel the same way after having Emma. I can tell you now, though, that I cannot for a moment understand how anyone can feel that way about their body after their baby is born. I LOVE my postpartum body. Sure, there are parts of me that are still squishy…I had a baby four weeks ago! But my squishy body was the home of my beautiful, baby girl for 40 weeks. My hips may be wider, my butt may be smaller, and my clothes may fit me differently, but I could NEVER hate my body after it gave me the greatest gift I have ever received. Once I’m in the clear to work out again, I will be doing so of course. But I certainly won’t be obsessed with “getting my body back.” What I will be focusing on is making the most of this new, beautiful body I have now, and seeing what other amazing things it’s capable of doing.

Lolz. I hope you’re all having a nice week so far! I can’t complain about mine, really, but obviously I’m looking forward to the weekend! We’re hanging out with Ashley and Jared (and their new fire pit…with s’mores) on Friday night and Ashley and I are taking a barre class on Saturday and hitting up the farmers market and I can’t wait!!! As for the rest of the weekend, I like to think I’ll be spending an equal portion of it relaxing and simultaneously being productive. Hopefully we’ll get the last little bit of the nursery together so that I can start to decorate and get everything in order.Eeeeeeeee.

I can’t believe how fast this is all going!! I’m 34 weeks pregnant tomorrow!! I really need to post a bUmPdate sometime soon, too. Perhaps this weekend!! Lol.

Breakfast: Breakfast on Monday was my go-to bowl of banana chocolate chip oats with some flax topped with peanut butter. It’s really what I look forward to most on the mornings that I have it lol. I also had some *gasp* caffeinated English Breakfast tea because I was all out of decaf. (FYI – Twinings English Breakfast Tea contains approximately 40 mg of caffeine in an 8 oz cup. According to my doctor and every other thing I’ve read about caffeine consumption during pregnancy – 120 mg/day is considered perfectly safe…so I’m good, man.)

Snack: Snack time on Monday was a hard boiled egg and a string cheese. I didn’t snap a picture of the string cheese, but I’m sure you all know what it looks like. Either way, noms!

Lunch: Lunch was leftover Chinese food!! Leftovers are totally the best part of Chinese food, right? We tried out a new place on Sunday night that just opened by us that actually delivers!! That’s pretty amazing for central PA. I’m still sad our favorite place closed down, but I actually really enjoyed this new one! My personal go-to pretty much anytime I get Chinese (and I’m not with people who like to share) is Chicken and Broccoli with White Rice. I like to add just a litttttttle drizzle of soy sauce to my white rice, too. Johnny was a little sad this place doesn’t have Boneless BBQ Spare Ribs on their menu, but he settled for Sesame Chicken and Fried Rice. He liked the chicken, but the fried rice didn’t win him over. No fried rice will if it doesn’t have egg in it! Either way, I was pleased to have enough left for lunch on Monday. Next time we order from them I need to try their Wonton Soup – that’s the true test of a good Chinese Restaurant!

Snack: My afternoon snack was 1/2 cup of plain, nonfat greek yogurt with about 1 teaspoon of honey in the mix, 1/4 cup of frozen mixed berries, and about 1 tablespoon each of walnuts and chia seeds. Gotta get my omega-3s on for Miss Emma’s lil baby brain development… annnnnnd because they’re delicious. Two birds, amiright?

Dinner: Well we got take out on Sunday because I reallllly didn’t feel like going to get groceries, so we HAD to get them on Monday night. We opted for a quick Wegmans dinner so I snagged an Avocado Summer Roll and a Spicy Shrimp Summer Roll. They’re probably two of my favorite things Wegmans has to offer in general food wise. Their sushi bar is soooooo fabulous and I love that I have so many options that aren’t raw (for now…muhuhaha). There was SO MUCH avocado in the avocado one it was perfect!! I also felt like I had eaten a lot of beige throughout the day, and I wanted to get my veggies on.

Dessert: I finally decided that Monday was the night I would make my own homemade chocolate chip peanut butter larabars/date balls/energy bites/whatever you wanna call em. I took 12 medjool dates, 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of crushed peanuts, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of water, and a handful of mini chocolate chips and whizzed them all together in the food processor. It made about a dozen little balls. I rolled the little balls in some more crushed peanuts just for funsies, too. I wound up munching on two of these. I also wound up taking the tablespoon I measure the peanut butter with and I accidentally dropped it into a jar of nutella…so I had to eat it…obviously. I also did not take a photo of the glass of orange juice I had later on in the evening whilst watching Couples Retreat…which I effing love and watch every time it’s on!!

So folks…
What’s your go-to for Chinese take out?? What is your favorite weekday breakfast?? Have you ever made date balls? What’s your favorite combination?